Peer-reviewed article
The political economy of education and child labour: Intersections of poverty, policy, and inequality in India
Pole Laxman ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article examines why child labour persists in India despite legal protections and expanded school enrollment. The study argues that poor-quality public education, private school expansion that excludes the poor, and weak adult incomes create conditions where families see education as low-value and choose child labour instead. High school enrollment rates hide the reality that many children are not learning effectively, and the informal economy continues to demand cheap child labour. The research shows that caste, gender, and regional inequalities make marginalized communities especially vulnerable to this cycle.
Key points
- High enrollment rates in Indian schools coexist with low learning outcomes, meaning children attend school but do not gain meaningful capabilities
- Families engage children in labour when adult income is insufficient and they perceive education as a low-return investment
- The expansion of private education has created a dual system that excludes the poor from quality schooling while widening inequality
- Caste, gender, and regional disparities reinforce the cycle of child labour, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities
- The informal economy sustains demand for cheap child labour, directly linking labour markets to educational exclusion
Limitations
This is a theoretical and policy analysis article that draws on secondary data sources (ASER 2023, UDISE+ 2023-24) rather than primary empirical research. It does not provide quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of specific interventions to reduce child labour or improve educational outcomes.
Abstract
Child labour in India persists as a structural outcome of the complex interaction between poverty, state policy, educational inequality, and labour market dynamics. This article situates child labour within the broader framework of the political economy of education, arguing that the issue cannot be understood solely through household-level poverty but must be analyzed in relation to systemic inequalities embedded in India’s development model. While constitutional guarantees and policy initiatives such as the Right to Education Act (2009) have expanded school enrollment, the coexistence of poor-quality public education, privatization, and informal labour markets continues to push children out of classrooms and into exploitative work environments. Drawing on recent data from ASER (2023) and UDISE+ (2023–24), the study demonstrates that high enrollment rates coexist with low learning outcomes, creating a situation where schooling does not translate into meaningful capability formation. In such contexts, families often perceive education as a low-return investment and prioritize immediate income generation through child labour. Basu and Van (1998) highlight that households engage children in labour when adult income is insufficient (p. 416), but this article extends the argument by showing how policy failures and institutional inequalities normalize such decisions. The article further explores how caste, gender, and regional disparities reinforce this cycle, with marginalized communities disproportionately affected. The expansion of private education has intensified inequality by creating a dual system that excludes the poor from quality schooling. Simultaneously, the informal economy sustains demand for cheap child labour, linking labour markets directly to educational exclusion. The study concludes that eliminating child labour requires an integrated approach that strengthens public education, enhances social protection, and addresses structural inequalities. Only by understanding the political economy of education can India bridge the gap between schooling and labour and achieve inclusive development.